Rating: 5/5
No. of Pages: 64
Published: 1963
From the back:
First published in 1963, Hop on Pop remains a perennial favorite when it comes to teaching kids to read. Here, as in most of his extensive body of work, Dr. Seuss creates uncomplicated, monosyllabic rhymes to foster learning and inspire children to read. But what was radical about this little book at the time of publication (and what makes it still compelling today) is Seuss's departure from the traditionally dull pictures and sentences used in reading primers. In contrast, the illustrations here are wild and wonderful, and the accompanying language, while simple, is delightfully silly. For example, the rhyme "THREE TREE / Three fish in a tree / Fish in a tree? / How can that be?" is brought to life with a trio of plump, self-satisfied fish perched atop globular branches as two stymied hybrid dog-rabbit-humanoids look on in consternation. Hop on Pop does much more than teach children the basics of word construction, it also introduces them to the incomparable pleasure of reading a book.

Mine:
As always – what a wonderful book. I used to read this to my brother when he was a child. I have now had the opportunity to read the book to my nephews. The rhyming makes the whole story come to life.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to trying to relax after spending 6 hours in the ER with my mom last night, tomorrow my plans include having a kid movie marathon and baking cookies with my nephews and Sunday, I want to sleep in and read!

From the back:
On an airplane bound for London from Paris, one of the eleven passengers is dead. The small red puncture wound on the woman’s neck might have been accepted as a sting from a wasp, but luck is not on the killer’s side. Hercule Poirot is aboard the plane, and he discovers a thorn typically used with a blowpipe near the victim’s feet. As he tackles the case suspicion points in all directions, even back to Poirot when the blowpipe is found tucked behind his seat. Can Poirot prevent the culprit from getting away with murder?

Mine:

Poirot must round up the usual suspects (the 9 passengers left) and narrow down the who did it. It seems like a daunting task – there are twists at every turn. The least likely suspect might be guilty, then again maybe not. Well we do know that Poirot is not guilty.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Alice Riley was gladi it was Friday. On Fridays she allowed her daughter to attend sleepovers. With her husband in such a foul mood it was better for Sally not to see or hear the verbal confrontations that went on. When Sally returned on Saturday, Alice made sure she had the hours covered with meaningful things to do that interested both of them.